World Business Quick Take

Agencies

Fri, May 17, 2013 - Page 15

TECHNOLOGY

Cisco posts income rise

Cisco Systems Inc’s net income jumped 14 percent in the latest quarter as revenue at all four of its divisions rose for the first time in a year-and-a-half. Cisco earned US$2.5 billion, or US$0.46 per share, in its fiscal third quarter, which ended on April 27. That is up from the US$2.2 billion, or US$0.40 per share, it posted a year ago. Excluding one-time items, Cisco earned US$0.51 per share in the latest quarter and its revenue increased 5 percent to US$12.2 billion from US$11.6 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected US$0.49 per share and US$12.2 billion in revenue. The networking equipment company’s net income and revenue beat Wall Street’s expectations and its stock gained US$1.21, or 5.7 percent, to US$22.42 in aftermarket trading after the release of the numbers.

COMPANIES

Toyota dethrones Samsung

Toyota Motor Corp has accelerated past South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co to become Asia’s biggest company by market value, after the value of the Japanese automaker’s shares doubled in the past year. Toyota’s market capitalization stood at ￥22.23 trillion (US$217 billion) yesterday, beating out the smartphone and tablet computer giant, which was worth the equivalent of ￥20.32 trillion. Toyota, also the world’s biggest automaker, has seen its shares jump on the back of improving financial results. Toyota last week said its full-year net profit more than tripled.

NEW ZEALAND

Auckland lifts spending

The government bucked the international trend toward austerity budgets yesterday by lifting spending modestly, while still predicting its books will be back in the black within two years. Minister of Finance Bill English said that after taking a battering from the global financial crisis and the Christchurch earthquake in 2011, prospects were looking good for the country’s economy. English said the farm-reliant economy, which generates NZ$140 billion (US$115 billion) a year, was set to expand 2.3 percent this year and next year, and growth was expected to continue through at least 2015 to 2016. He said the figure would have been closer to 3 percent if not for an ongoing drought.

UNITED STATES

Factory output falls

The nation’s factory output dropped last month and manufacturing activity in New York State contracted this month, a sign that slowing global demand is weighing on the economy. Manufacturing production fell 0.4 percent last month after declining 0.3 percent in March, the Federal Reserve said. That pushed overall industrial output down by 0.5 percent. The drop in factory output, which accounts for more than 70 percent of industrial production, was broad-based and in keeping with data earlier this month that showed factory payrolls failed to expand last month.

FINANCE

JPMorgan seek records

Lawyers for JPMorgan Chase & Co are asking financial news and data company Bloomberg LP to turn over any records it has of reporters looking up the log-in and usage data of JPMorgan employees. A person familiar with the matter said a formal letter was sent this week. The person said the letter seeks data going back to 2008 as the bank examines whether the seller of ubiquitous trading data terminals was in breach of contract. It comes after the revelation on Friday that, until recently, Bloomberg reporters had special access to client usage data and sought to use it to break stories.